CAREER: Phylogeny of the Siphonaptera of the World

9983195白蛉是一个相对较小的全变态昆虫目（管翅目），约有2380种，与鸟类和哺乳动物寄主有关。跳蚤家族之间的系统发育关系实际上是未知的，并且仍然令人困惑。本提案研究部分的目的是确定管翅目在家族和属水平上的系统发育关系。这将通过编制大量跳蚤和相关分类群的形态学和DNA序列数据，然后对这些数据进行严格的系统发育分析来完成。一旦系统发育完成，将对蚤类的分类进行评估，并对蚤类进化过程中哺乳动物-鸟类宿主转移的模式进行研究。本提案教育部分的目的是为广大本科生提供基本的系统学教育，并为那些对系统学和进化生物学最感兴趣的人提供重要的研究经验。学生将有机会进行实地工作，基于收集的研究（例如，记录跳蚤形态），基于实验室的研究（例如，DNA测序）和基于计算的研究（例如，系统发育分析）。重点将放在培养本科生的研究和分析技能上，这是在进化生物学领域取得成功的职业生涯所必需的。在犹他州的系统学研讨会上，学生们将展示他们的研究成果，并有机会与其他机构的同行进行互动，最后，学生们将准备一篇论文发表。该项目将提供跳蚤系统发育方面急需的信息，促进学生在系统系统学方面的培训，并有助于培养对跳蚤系统系统学的兴趣，这是一个迫切需要年轻专家的领域。

9983195Whiting Fleas comprise a relatively small holometabolous insect order (Siphonaptera) of about 2380 species which are associated with bird and mammal hosts. The phylogenetic relationships among flea families are virtually unknown and have remained perplexing. The purpose of the research component of this proposal is to determine phylogenetic relationships of Siphonaptera at the familial and generic levels. This will be accomplished by compiling morphological and DNA sequence data for a large representation of fleas and related taxa, then subjecting these data to rigorous phylogenetic analysis. Once the phylogeny is in place, the current classification of fleas will be evaluated and the pattern of mammal-bird host shifts during flea evolution will be investigated. The purpose of the education component of this proposal is to provide a basic systematics education to a wide range of undergraduate students, and to furnish significant research experiences to those most interested in systematics and evolutionary biology. Students will be given opportunities for field work, collection-based research (e.g., documenting flea morphology), lab-based research (e.g., DNA sequencing), and computation based-research (e.g., phylogenetic analysis). The focus will be on developing research and analytical skills in undergraduate students, which are necessary for successful careers in evolutionary biology. The education experience culminates in a Utah State Systematics symposium where the students present their research and have the opportunity to interact with peers from other institutions and concludes with students preparing a manuscript for publication. This project will provide much needed information on flea phylogeny, facilitate the training of students in systematics, and help spawn interest in flea systematics, an field sorely in need of young specialists.